Our trip home

After some minor issues at the bus station we got on our 'sleeper' bus and started to get comfortable. For about $35 you can get on a bus with seats that recline almost all the way with a foot rest and it is usually very comfortable and we sleep quite well. But, there were a few differences on this particular bus since it was a different line than we usually have and things did not go well. It was very bumpy and wind-y to begin with and about 3 minutes into the trip I was sick. Over the course of the next few hours things deteriorated but I will spare you the details! We got into Santiago the next morning and spent about another hour and a half on public transportation getting back to the mission house. In the following 2 hours all 7 of us sped through the showers and then headed to church. It was really fun for me to see so many of the people I had grown up with still serving there faithfully....sad at the same time to see those who were no longer there.

For the rest of that day we relaxed and caught up on some sleep and visited with the Kunnari's. The next day was the missionary prayer meeting and we spent the day doing laundry and visiting and ordering Domino's pizza....times have changed!A flattering picture of the Kunarri's ~ it was soooo good to see them! Left to right - Christina Steward (MK in Chile), Logan, Timmy and Noemi Rea and their dad, Jonny Rea, GMSA missionary in Santiago. He was teaching Logan how to play 'Snakes and Ladders'.One of the most special parts of the day was getting to visit with one of my best friends from high school, Stephanie Garcia. We have kept in touch over the years but rarely have the opportunity to see each other face to face. They are also missionaries in Chile, with ABWE, and are in the midst of adopting 2 little boys from Haiti!

Thanks, Steph and Pedro, for making the effort to come and see us!Different shades of skin is one of the few differences these two little rascals had=) Most of the time they seemed to be on the same page!Here are Isabel, Jesse, Alana, and Owen. Stephanie's oldest, Eva, was outside with the older kids. Pray for them as they would desire for little Ian and Alec to join their family very soon!Once the pizza was eaten preparations began in earnest to load up three vehicles with all of our luggage and all the people heading to the airport to see off the final batch of the NTI team, our family and Brett Kunnari.And so the last 24 hours of traveling began....one 10 hour plane ride, one 2 hour plane ride, and one 6 hour truck ride later and the thousands of miles would be behind us. Some were more excited about that than others....=)Thankfully the plane rides were mostly uneventful....No sooner had we pulled in the driveway and unloaded the luggage than it started to snow. From 85 to about 25 degrees in just a day - the next morning we woke up to the white stuff and Logan headed outside and did this! What a welcome home=)